Why I Am A Member Of AACC

Introduction

    I would like to share with people the reasons why I am a happy member of American Association of Christian Counselors (AACC).

Focus on a Relationship with Jesus Christ

    Per Dr. Clinton, Dr. Ohlschlager & Dr. Hart in Caring For People God's Way, Christian counseling "may be defined as a triadic healing encounter with the living Christ, facilitated by a helper who assists this redemptive, healing process, helping another get unstuck and moving forward on the path to spiritual maturity and psycho-social-emotional health."
    In another section, they state "Yet we would also assert that counseling, by itself, is not enough.... we have all encountered persons who, after years of work, are still stuck, still oppressed.  There are many people who will not be freed without a healing encounter with the living God through the Holy Spirit.  And most importantly we assert true freedom only comes through faith in Christ."

Focus on the Power of the Holy Spirit

    Per Dr. Clinton et al., "Christian counseling facilitates a supernatural encounter between the human spirit and the Holy Spirit wherein Christ is made alive in the life of the person in a fresh and healing way."

Focus on Theology

    Per Dr. Clinton et al., "We believe that Christian counseling is largely deficient in its theological roots and spiritual practices."  They state "All counseling and psychotherapy -- especially that which denies it -- is deeply values-based."  They then ask the rhetorical question, "Are we doing theology well?"  They advocate for biblical theology.

Focus on Caring

    In the section "Caring vs Curing", Dr. Clinton et al. teach that though some things are helped through medicine, and some are helped and never have problems again, most of the problems we encounter are repetitive and long-term.  Some of these border on, or are, peronality disorders.  To believe that these are a failed faith is to take an immature "Pollyannish" view of God.  We even see this in Romans 7 vs 8.

The Preeminent Role of the Bible

    In "The Foundation and Scope of this book", Dr. Clinton et al. state "The preeminent role of the Bible (OT and NT) and Scriptural truth as the final authority and primary revealer of Christ...." as the #2 source of authority.  The #1 source is the revelation of God in Christ Jesus.  The Bible is absolutely preeminent in all things.  This aligns with the statement of John Calvin: "All truth is God's truth."
    It should be noted that the Bible is not exhaustive in all subjects.  Indeed, if the Word were to exhaustively contain all of the wisdom of God, the universe could not contain the volume.  God gave us brains and principles in the Bible and expects us to use them.  It is therefore urged by AACC that all counselors use only that which agrees with and supports the Bible, because the Bible is preeminent.
    It should be noted that if God and/or the Bible was sufficient for mankind, for example, why did God say it was not good for Adam to be alone and then create Eve?  Because God wanted us to be in relationships that reflect the Trinity.

Other Reasons

    Here are some other reasons I am a member of AACC:

Conclusion

    The enemy is a yard from our own in-zone.  It's overtime.  The enemy has the ball.  There is only one minute left on the clock.  We are losing the "battle" for the culture of our country.  Dying families lie spread around the field.  Pastors who have sinned are bleeding to death from wounds inflicted by their own.  Our society is so porn-saturated that it's hard to find anyone who isn't struggling with it.  Abortion is at an all-time high.  Murder, suicide, and rape are continuing to climb.  Now is NOT the time to argue about how we help people grow spiritually.  Jesus said "whoever is not against you is for you."  The suffering of mankind continues to skyrocket.  Now is NOT the time for the body of Christ to be divided.  Now is NOT the time to argue over words.  Now is NOT the time to be divisive within the body of Christ, nor has it ever been.
     Now is the time to help people.